Catyph: The Kunci Experiment Demo

The one thing humankind doesn’t lack is ambition, and we use it to constantly propel ourselves forward as a species. It may seem like we are jumping from one disaster to the other in regards to civilization and society - at least on a large enough timescale -, but we learn something from every unpleasant period. Hence, it’s indisputable that we’ll someday manage to explore other worlds, even if that day is many years away at this point.

Catyph: The Kunci Experiment is a first-person point & click adventure game with a sci-fi theme and the kind of puzzles you might have seen in the Myst series back in the day. The game is designed to intrigue your imagination and wrinkle your brain a bit, because the riddles you have to tackle are anything but simple. However, any point & click fan knows that there’s no easy way around a puzzle that features alien machinery.

The story is based on the Black Cube series, since the game is actually part of the same universe, but you do not need to be familiar with anything that came before it to enjoy this adventure. As such, humans find a mysterious black cube in the year 2062, a cube that allows them to build great things. Naturally, they decide to explore the solar system and maybe find signs of life somewhere else in the universe. In this episode, you are exploring a moon called Tytaah.

Gameplay-wise, even novices should figure things out from the first couple of minutes. The first-person perspective allows you to see everything through the eyes of the main character, which makes it easier to interact with the environment and various objects. Your main activity is observation, because every puzzle is pretty tough, which requires your concentration and out-of-the-box thinking.

Even if you are not actually free to move in 3D, each frame is gorgeous and very detailed, although you have to account for the fact that you are on a supposedly uninhabited planet full of methane and mercury lakes. Thus, some of the landscapes are pretty bleak, but the combination of colors and post-processing effects used create a unique atmosphere. It also helps that you are constantly carried away by a moody soundtrack.

As tough as the puzzles might be sometimes, Catyph: The Kunci Experiment does not disappoint in regards to atmosphere and story, which is exactly what you want from an adventure game. Thus, if you happen to be aching for a classic point & click title that doesn’t serve everything on a plate to you, this may very well keep you busy for a few hours.